Invisible Technology

Inventor: Susumu Tachi, Masahiko Inami and Naoki Kawakami

Harry Potter isn't the only academic with an invisibility cloak. A professor at the University of Tokyo has created an optical camouflage system that makes anyone wearing a special reflective material seem to disappear. Here's how: a video camera records the real-life scenery behind the subject, transmits that image to a front-mounted projector, which then displays the scene on the reflective material. The system has obvious military applications and could also be used in airplane cockpits to make landings easier for pilots.